The National Practitioner Database: Malpractice Study of Severity of Alleged Malpractice Injuries Trends 2008-2018 (1 Class A CE)

According to an earlier study conducted using the NPDB from 1990 to 1998, the researchers determined the top practitioners named in closed claims to be in the settings of general practice internal medicine, obstetrics, and surgery respectively.13 This study also examined malpractice allegation groups; however, we note there has been a shift in those rankings. In this current study, the top three allegation groups were comprised of diagnostics groups, treatment groups, and surgery groups for four of the major outcomes. The surgery allegation group ranked first in three of the four severity of injury/outcome groups. Examining the setting in which care takes place to determine its impact on healthcare delivery is important. Patients receive care from physicians and nurses in a variety of practice settings and specialties.9, Malpractice paid claims were highest for surgeons and general practice.10 These findings correlate to practice settings which include IP and OP locations and from the OR to the office-based practice.11 This shift in the allegation groups requires further examination, especially where surgery is concerned. HCUP reports over 17 million reported inpatient and ambulatory surgeries per/year.14 This specialty allegation group is at high risk for malpractice and further research is necessary to target ways in which to improve the outcomes for surgery as well as the diagnosis and treatment-related allegation groups. This study also provides valuable information that can help nursing, medical and other health professional students understand the different types of situations or events that can result in a malpractice payment.